In submerged combustion melting (SCM), combustion gases are injected beneath a surface of a molten matrix and rise upward through the melt. The matrix may include glass and/or inorganic non-metallic feedstocks such as rock (basalt) and mineral wool (stone wool). Regardless of the material utilized, it is heated at a high efficiency via the intimate contact with the combustion gases and melts into a matrix. Using submerged combustion burners produces violent turbulence of the molten matrix and results in a high degree of mechanical energy in the submerged combustion melter. In this violent environment, the burners are subjected to significant thermal and mechanical stresses that may result in increased likelihood of early failure.